From the hallways of the Stanley Hotel to the cells of Alcatraz — 18 of the country's most famous haunted locations, each with a documentary video, its history, and the stories that made it legendary.
Some places refuse to let go of the past. Across the United States, hotels, prisons, plantations, battlefields and asylums carry unsettling reputations — legends of lingering spirits, unexplained footsteps and cold spots that keep visitors looking over their shoulder.
Below are 18 of the most famous haunted locations in America, from coast to coast. Each entry includes a documentary or feature video, a short history, and the story behind its spectral fame. Whether you believe in ghosts or just love a good story, these are the places every haunted-America fan should know.
| Locations covered | 18 across 12 states |
| Oldest | The White House (built 1792‑1800) |
| Most famous film link | The Stanley Hotel — inspired The Shining |
| Featured videos | Documentaries & paranormal features (source: each video's channel) |
Perched in the Rocky Mountains, the grand 1909 Stanley Hotel is arguably America's most famous haunted hotel — largely because author Stephen King and his wife stayed there in 1974, and the hotel's eerie atmosphere famously inspired his novel The Shining. Guests and staff report ghostly piano music, apparitions in the halls, and a spectral presence on the fourth floor.
Notable fact: Built by F.O. Stanley of Stanley Steamer fame in 1909; room 217 is the most requested — and the room King stayed in.
Once the most famous and expensive prison in the world, Eastern State Penitentiary opened in 1829 with a revolutionary design meant to inspire solitary reflection. It later housed Al Capone. The crumbling Gothic halls are now a famous paranormal hotspot, with reports of ghostly voices, shadow figures and the lingering presence of former inmates.
Notable fact: Housed Al Capone in 1929; its vaulted, skylit cells inspired more than 300 prisons worldwide. It's famous today for its "Halloween Nights" event.
Opened as a tuberculosis hospital in 1910, Waverly Hills treated — and lost — thousands of patients, many in its infamous "death tunnel." The abandoned medical complex is considered one of the most haunted places in the world, with visitors reporting disembodied voices, apparitions of patients and nurses, and the sound of crying echoing through the empty wards.
Notable fact: Its 500-foot "body chute" allowed coffins to be moved discreetly from the upper floors; hundreds died there during the TB epidemic.
The notorious island federal prison housed America's most dangerous criminals — Al Capone, "Machine Gun" Kelly, Robert Stroud — before closing in 1963. With its cold cells, isolation and violent history, it's little surprise "The Rock" carries a haunted reputation. Staff and visitors report cell doors rattling, phantom footsteps, and ghostly figures in the cellhouse and lighthouse.
Notable fact: No inmate ever officially escaped successfully, though 36 tried; the 1962 escape attempt was made famous by the film Escape from Alcatraz.
Often dubbed "one of America's most haunted homes," the Myrtles Plantation dates to 1796 and is steeped in legend — including the ghost of a slave woman, Chloe, said to still linger with a green turban. Visitors report phantom figures, mysterious portraits that change expression, and unexplained sounds throughout the antebellum estate.
Notable fact: Legend holds that Chloe was hanged for poisoning the master's family; her image is said to appear in one of the famous portraits on display.
The bloodiest battle of the American Civil War was fought here in July 1863, leaving some 50,000 casualties. It's little wonder Gettysburg is among the most haunted places in the country — visitors and residents report phantom soldiers, distant drums and gunfire, and spectral troops marching across the fields and back roads at dusk.
Notable fact: Three days of fighting in 1863 produced the largest number of casualties of the entire Civil War; Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address here in November 1863.
No place in America is more synonymous with witches than Salem, site of the infamous 1692 witch trials that saw 20 innocents executed. The city's deep history of persecution and its famed Witch House — home of trial judge Jonathan Corwin — make it a magnet for ghost tours, with reports of cold spots, apparitions and eerie sensations in its centuries-old streets and homes.
Notable fact: The Witch House (built about 1675) is the only building still standing in Salem with direct ties to the 1692 witch trials.
Sarah Winchester, heiress to the Winchester rifle fortune, believed she was haunted by the spirits of those killed by the rifle — and that she could keep them at bay only by building endlessly, without interruption, for 38 years. The result is a bizarre, 160-room Victorian mansion full of stairways to nowhere, doors opening into walls and rooms built for ghosts.
Notable fact: Construction ran continuously from 1884 until Sarah's death in 1922; the house has some 10,000 windows, 2,000 doors and 47 staircases.
The legendary ocean liner, in service from 1936 to 1967, carried over two million passengers and soldiers before being permanently docked at Long Beach. It's now famed as one of the most haunted ships in the world — reports include apparitions in the engine room and pool, mysterious knocks, and the famous "White Lady."
Notable fact: The engine room was the scene of a 1966 tragedy when a crewman was crushed, and his ghost is among the most reported aboard.
Just north of Nashville, the Bell Witch legend is one of America's oldest and most documented hauntings, dating to the early 1800s when the Bell family claimed a spirit tormented their farm. The cave on the property is said to be the source of the entity's power. Visitors report sudden cold, strange lights and oppressive feelings underground.
Notable fact: The haunting supposedly began in 1817 and tormented John Bell until his death in 1820; even Andrew Jackson reportedly stopped by to investigate.
In August 1892, Andrew and Abby Borden were found brutally murdered with an axe in their home — and daughter Lizzie was tried and acquitted in one of America's most sensational trials. The house is now a bed-and-breakfast and museum that guests say is genuinely haunted, with reports of apparitions, footsteps and disembodied voices echoing through the rooms.
Notable fact: The famous jump-rope rhyme "Lizzie Borden took an axe…" cemented the case in American memory; the acquittal remains controversial to this day.
In 1834, a fire at the LaLaurie Mansion exposed the horrific mistreatment of enslaved people inside, and the home became a symbol of gothic horror. It has been called one of the most haunted buildings in New Orleans, with reports of screams, apparitions and a pervasive sense of dread — a story amplified by its appearance in American Horror Story: Coven.
Notable fact: After the exposed atrocities, a mob destroyed the house in 1834; the current structure is from 1908 but the tragic legend endures.
Tucked in the woods near Chicago, this abandoned, century-old cemetery is among the Midwest's most famous haunted sites. Its crumbling graves are said to host the "White Lady," a ghostly farmer, a vanishing house, and mysterious glowing lights — earning it a devoted following among paranormal investigators.
Notable fact: Despite reports of hundreds of burials, only a fraction of graves remain marked, and the site is difficult to reach — adding to its eerie isolation.
Built to a grand Gothic plan from 1858, this asylum was meant for 250 patients but at its peak held over 2,400, in severely overcrowded and often tragic conditions. Now abandoned, the sprawling complex is a major paranormal destination, with reports of apparitions, phantom footsteps and the disembodied sounds of crying and whispers in its massive stone halls.
Notable fact: It was the largest hand-cut sandstone building in North America; lobotomies and other controversial treatments were performed there.
On the night of June 10, 1912, eight people — including six children — were found bludgeoned to death with an axe in this Iowa farmhouse. The murders were never solved, and the home is now a notorious paranormal site. Guests and visitors report unexplained footsteps, slamming doors, and the overwhelming sensation of being watched.
Notable fact: The 1912 murder of the Moore family and two guests remains one of America's most famous unsolved crimes to this day.
Opened in 1886 as a luxury resort, the Crescent Hotel later served as a "cancer hospital" run by a doctor — Norman Baker — whose dubious treatments and claims of healing drew desperate patients, many of whom died. Marked by that dark history, the hotel is now famous for its ghosts, including a nurse and masons still wandering the historic floors.
Notable fact: Baker's "hospital" operated from 1937 to 1940 until he was convicted of mail fraud.
One of America's grandest beach resorts (opened 1888) is also one of its most famously haunted. The hotel's historic presence centers on Kate Morgan, a guest found dead on the beach in 1892 under mysterious circumstances; her ghost is said to haunt room 3327 and the surrounding halls to this day.
Notable fact: Kate Morgan's unsolved 1892 death remains a favorite story of ghost tour guides; the hotel also inspired Some Like It Hot.
Sitting on a remote high-desert ranch, Skinwalker Ranch has been described as a hotspot of strange phenomena — UFOs, cattle mutilations, mysterious creatures and poltergeist-like activity. The site's unsettling reputation, from Navajo legends to modern investigations, has made it one of the most discussed paranormal locations in the country.
Notable fact: The property was purchased in 2016 by a company specifically to study the phenomena, featured in HISTORY's The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch.
Haunted America is a thriving destination. Many of these locations offer daytime tours, ghost tours and Halloween-season events — the Stanley Hotel runs horror film screenings, Eastern State Penitentiary hosts "Halloween Nights," and several offer overnight paranormal investigations.
Best practices: book tours in advance, especially in October; most sites are open year-round but hours vary by season; and check each location's official site for tickets, age restrictions and ghost-hunt rules.
Want to dress the part for a haunted getaway or costume event? Browse our Halloween shop, read the history of Halloween, or check the Halloween III movie guide.